F I R S T J O H N.

CHAP. III.

The apostle here magnifies the love of God in our
adoption, ver. 1, 2. He
thereupon argues for holiness (ver.
3), and against sin, ver.
4-19. He presses brotherly love, ver. 11-18. How to assure our hearts
before God, ver. 19-22.
The precept of faith, ver.
23. And the good of obedience, ver. 24.

Adoption. (a.
d. 80.)

1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath
bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God:
therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear
what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall
be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 3 And every man
that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is
pure.

The apostle, having shown the dignity of
Christ's faithful followers, that they are born of him and thereby
nearly allied to God, now here,

I. Breaks forth into the admiration of that
grace that is the spring of such a wonderful vouchsafement:
Behold (see you, observe) what manner of love, or how
great love, the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be
called, effectually called (he who calls things that are not
makes them to be what they were not) the sons of God! The
Father adopts all the children of the Son. The Son indeed calls
them, and makes them his brethren; and thereby he confers upon them
the power and dignity of the sons of God. It is wonderful
condescending love of the eternal Father, that such as we should be
made and called his sons—we who by nature are heirs of sin, and
guilt, and the curse of God—we who by practice are children of
corruption, disobedience, and ingratitude! Strange, that the holy
God is not ashamed to be called our Father, and to call us his
sons! Thence the apostle,

II. Infers the honour of believers above
the cognizance of the world. Unbelievers know little of them.
Therefore (or wherefore, upon this score) the world
knoweth us not, v.
1. Little does the world perceive the advancement and
happiness of the genuine followers of Christ. They are here exposed
to the common calamities of earth and time; all things fall alike
to them as to others, or rather they are subject to the greater
sorrow, for they have often reason to say, If in this life only
we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable,1 Cor. xv. 19. The
unchristian world, therefore, that walks by sight, knows not their
dignity, their privileges, the enjoyments they have in hand, nor
what they are entitled to. Little does the world think that these
poor, humble, contemned ones are the favourites of heaven, and will
be inhabitants there ere long. And they may bear their case the
better since their Lord was here unknown as well as they:
Because it knew him not, v. 1. Little did the world think how
great a person was once sojourning here, that the Maker of it was
once an inhabitant of it. Little did the Jewish world think that
the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, was one of their blood, and
dwelt in their land; he came to his own, and his own received him
not. He came to his own, and his own crucified him; but surely,
had they known him, they would not have crucified the Lord of
glory, 1 Cor. ii. 8. Let
the followers of Christ be content with hard fare here, since they
are in a land of strangers, among those who little know them, and
their Lord was so treated before them. Then the apostle,

III. Exalts these persevering disciples in
the prospect of the certain revelation of their state and dignity.
Here, 1. Their present honourable relation is asserted:
Beloved (you may well be our beloved, for you are beloved of
God), now are we the sons of God, v. 2. We have the nature of sons by
regeneration: we have the title, and spirit, and right to the
inheritance of sons by adoption. This honour have all the
saints. 2. The discovery of the bliss belonging and suitable to
this relation is denied: And it doth not yet appear what we
shall be, v. 2.
The glory pertaining to the sonship and adoption is adjourned and
reserved for another world. The discovery of it here would put a
stop to the current of affairs that must now proceed. The sons of
God must walk by faith, and live by hope. 3. The time of the
revelation of the sons of God in their proper state and glory is
determined; and that is when their elder brother comes to call and
collect them all together: But we know that when he shall appear
we shall be like him. The particle, ean, usually
translated if, is here well rendered when; for the
Hebrew particle am (to which this is thought to
correspond) is observed so to signify, as Dr. Whitby has here
noted; and not only is ean sometimes used for
hotan, but some copies even here read
hotan,when. And accordingly it seems proper
so to render it in John xiv.
3, where we read it, And if I go, and prepare a
place; but more naturally and properly, When I shall have
gone, and shall have prepared the place, I will come again, and
receive you unto myself, or paralepsomai—I
will take you along with myself, that where I am there you may be
also. When the head of the church, the only-begotten of the
Father, shall appear, his members, the adopted of God, shall appear
and be manifested together with him. They may then well wait in
faith, hope, and earnest desire, for the revelation of the Lord
Jesus; as even the creation itself waiteth for their perfection,
and the public manifestation of the sons of God, Rom. viii. 19. The sons of God will be
known and be made manifest by their likeness to their head: They
shall be like him—like him in honour, and power, and glory.
Their vile bodies shall be made like his glorious body; they shall
be filled with life, light, and bliss from him. When he, who is
their life, shall appear, they also shall appear with him in
glory, Col. iii. 4.
Then, 4. Their likeness to him is argued from the sight they shall
have of him: We shall be like him, for we shall see him as he
is. Their likeness will be the cause of that sight which they
shall have of him. Indeed, all shall see him, but not as they do;
not as he is, namely, to those in heaven. The wicked shall
see him in his frowns, in the terror of his majesty, and the
splendour of his avenging perfections; but these shall see him in
the smiles and beauty of his face, in the correspondence and
amiableness of his glory, in the harmony and agreeableness of his
beatific perfections. Their likeness shall enable them to see him
as the blessed do in heaven. Or the sight of him shall be the cause
of their likeness; it shall be a transformative sight: they shall
be transformed into the same image by the beatific view that they
shall have of him. Then the apostle,

IV. Urges the engagement of these sons of
God to the prosecution of holiness: And every man that hath this
hope in him purifies himself even as he is pure, v. 3. The sons of God know that
their Lord is holy and pure; he is of purer heart and eyes than to
admit any pollution or impurity to dwell with him. Those then who
hope to live with him must study the utmost purity from the world,
and flesh, and sin; they must grow in grace and holiness. Not only
does their Lord command them to do so, but their new nature
inclines them so to do; yea, their hope of heaven will dictate and
constrain them so to do. They know that their high priest is holy,
harmless, and undefiled. They know that their God and Father is the
high and holy one, that all the society is pure and holy, that
their inheritance is an inheritance of saints in light. It is a
contradiction to such hope to indulge sin and impurity. And
therefore, as we are sanctified by faith, we must be sanctified by
hope. That we may be saved by hope we must be purified by hope. It
is the hope of hypocrites, and not of the sons of God, that makes
an allowance for the gratification of impure desires and lusts.

The Mark of God's Children. (a.
d. 80.)

4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also
the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. 5 And ye
know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no
sin. 6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever
sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. 7 Little
children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is
righteous, even as he is righteous. 8 He that committeth sin
is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this
purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the
works of the devil. 9 Whosoever is born of God doth not
commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin,
because he is born of God. 10 In this the children of God
are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not
righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his
brother.

The apostle, having alleged the believer's
obligation to purity from his hope of heaven, and of communion with
Christ in glory at the day of his appearance, now proceeds to fill
his own mouth and the believer's mind with multiplied arguments
against sin, and all communion with the impure unfruitful works of
darkness. And so he reasons and argues,

I. From the nature of sin and the intrinsic
evil of it. It is a contrariety to the divine law: Whosoever
committeth sin transgresseth also (or even) the law (or,
whosoever committeth sin even committeth enormity, or aberration
from law, or from the law); for sin is the transgression of the
law, or is lawlessness, v.
4. Sin is the destitution or privation of correspondence
and agreement with the divine law, that law which is the transcript
of the divine nature and purity, which contains his will for the
government of the world, which is suitable to the rational nature,
and enacted for the good of the world, which shows man the way of
felicity and peace, and conducts him to the author of his nature
and of the law. The current commission of sin now is the rejection
of the divine law, and this is the rejection of the divine
authority, and consequently of God himself.

II. From the design and errand of the Lord
Jesus in and to this world, which was to remove sin: And you
know that he was manifested to take away our sins, and in him is no
sin, v. 5. The
Son of God appeared, and was known, in our nature; and he came to
vindicate and exalt the divine law, and that by obedience to the
precept, and by subjection and suffering under the penal sanction,
under the curse of it. He came therefore to take away our
sins, to take away the guilt of them by the sacrifice of
himself, to take away the commission of them by implanting a new
nature in us (for we are sanctifies by virtue of his death), and to
dissuade and save from it by his own example, and (or
for) in him was no sin; or, he takes sin away, that he may
conform us to himself, and in him is no sin. Those that
expect communion with Christ above should study communion with him
here in the utmost purity. And the Christian world should know and
consider the great end of the Son of God's coming hither: it was to
take away our sin: And you know (and this knowledge should
be deep and effectual) that he was manifested to take away our
sins.

III. From the opposition between sin and a
real union with or adhesion to the Lord Christ: Whosoever
abideth in him sinneth not, v. 6. To sin here is the same as to
commit sin (v. 8,
9), and to commit sin is to practise sin. He that
abideth in Christ continues not in the practice of sin. As vital
union with the Lord Jesus broke the power of sin in the heart and
nature, so continuance therein prevents the regency and prevalence
thereof in the life and conduct. Or the negative expression here is
put for the positive: He sinneth not, that is, he is
obedient, he keeps the commandments (in sincerity, and in
the ordinary course of life) and does those things that are
pleasing in his sight, as is said v. 22. Those that abide in Christ
abide in their covenant with him, and consequently watch against
the sin that is contrary thereto. They abide in the potent light
and knowledge of him; and therefore it may be concluded that he
that sinneth (abideth in the predominant practice of sin)
hath not seen him (hath not his mind impressed with a sound
evangelical discerning of him), neither known him, hath no
experimental acquaintance with him. Practical renunciation of sin
is the great evidence of spiritual union with, continuance in, and
saving knowledge of, the Lord Christ.

IV. From the connection between the
practice of righteousness and a state of righteousness, intimating
withal that the practice of sin and a justified state are
inconsistent; and this is introduced with a supposition that a
surmise to the contrary is a gross deceit: "Little children,
dear children, and as much children as you are, herein let no
man deceive you. There will be those who will magnify your new
light and entertainment of Christianity, who will make you believe
that your knowledge, profession, and baptism, will excuse you from
the care and accuracy of the Christian life. But beware of such
self-deceit. He that doeth righteousness in righteous." It
may appear that righteousness may in several places of scripture be
justly rendered religion, as Matt. v. 10, Blessed are those that are
persecuted for righteousness' sake, that is, for religion's
sake; 1 Pet. iii. 14,
But if you suffer for righteousness' sake (religion's sake)
happy are you; and 2 Tim. iii.
16, All scripture, or the whole scripture, is
given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine—and
for instruction in righteousness, that is, in the nature and
branches of religion. To do righteousness then, especially being
set in opposition to the doing, committing, or practising, of sin,
is to practise religion. Now he who practiseth religion is
righteous; he is the righteous person on all accounts; he is
sincere and upright before God. The practice of religion cannot
subsist without a principle of integrity and conscience. He has
that righteousness which consists in pardon of sin and right to
life, founded upon the imputation of the Mediator's righteousness.
He has a title to the crown of righteousness, which the
righteous Judge will give, according to his covenant and
promise, to those that love his appearing, 2 Tim. iv. 8. He has communion with
Christ, in conformity to the divine law, being in some measure
practically righteous as he; and he has communion with him in the
justified state, being now relatively righteous together with
him.

V. From the relation between the sinner and
the devil, and thereupon from the design and office of the Lord
Christ against the devil. 1. From the relation between the sinner
and the devil. As elsewhere sinners and saints are distinguished
(though even saints are sinners largely so called), so to commit
sin is here so to practise it as sinners do, that are
distinguished from saints, to live under the power and dominion of
it; and he who does so is of the devil; his sinful nature is
inspired by, and agreeable and pleasing to, the devil; and he
belongs to the party, and interest, and kingdom of the devil. It is
he that is the author and patron of sin, and has been a
practitioner of it, a tempter and instigator to it, even from the
beginning of the world. And thereupon we must see how he argues. 2.
From the design and office of the Lord Christ against the devil:
For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might
destroy the works of the devil, v. 8. The devil has designed and
endeavoured to ruin the work of God in this world. The Son of God
has undertaken the holy war against him. He came into our world,
and was manifested in our flesh, that he might conquer him and
dissolve his works. Sin will he loosen and dissolve more and more,
till he has quite destroyed it. Let not us serve or indulge what
the Son of God came to destroy.

VI. From the connection between
regeneration and the relinquishment of sin: Whosoever is born of
God doth not commit sin. To be born of God is to be inwardly
renewed, and restored to a holy integrity or rectitude of nature by
the power of the Spirit of God. Such a one committeth not
sin, does not work iniquity nor practise disobedience, which is
contrary to his new nature and the regenerate complexion of his
spirit; for, as the apostle adds, his seed remaineth in him,
either the word of God in its light and power remaineth in
him (as 1 Pet. i. 23,
Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible,
by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever), or,
that which is born of the Spirit is spirit; the spiritual
seminal principle of holiness remaineth in him. Renewing grace is
an abiding principle. Religion, in the spring of it, is not an art,
an acquired dexterity and skill, but a new nature. And thereupon
the consequence is the regenerate person cannot sin. That he
cannot commit an act of sin, I suppose no judicious interpreter
understands. This would be contrary to ch. i. 9, where it is made our duty to
confess our sins, and supposed that our privilege thereupon is to
have our sins forgiven. He therefore cannot sin, in the
sense in which the apostle says, he cannot commit sin. He
cannot continue in the course and practice of sin. He cannot so sin
as to denominate him a sinner in opposition to a saint or servant
of God. Again, he cannot sin comparatively, as he did before he was
born of God, and as others do that are not so. And the reason is
because he is born of God, which will amount to all this
inhibition and impediment. 1. There is a light in his mind which
shows him the evil and malignity of sin. 2. There is that bias upon
his heart which disposes him to loathe and hate sin. 3. There is
the spiritual seminal principle or disposition, that breaks the
force and fulness of the sinful acts. They proceed not from such
plenary power of corruption as they do in others, nor obtain that
plenitude of heart, spirit, and consent, which they do in others.
The spirit lusteth against the flesh. And therefore in
respect to such sin it may be said, It is no more I that do it,
but sin that dwelleth in me. It is not reckoned the person's
sin, in the gospel account, where the bent and frame of the mind
and spirit are against it. Then, 4. There is a disposition for
humiliation and repentance for sin, when it has been committed.
He that is born of God cannot sin. Here we may call to mind
the usual distinction of natural and moral impotency. The
unregenerate person is morally unable for what is religiously good.
The regenerate person is happily disabled for sin. There is a
restraint, an embargo (as we may say), laid upon his sinning
powers. It goes against him sedately and deliberately to sin. We
usually say of a person of known integrity, "He cannot lie, he
cannot cheat, and commit other enormities." How can I commit
this great wickedness, and sin against God! Gen. xxxix. 9. And so those who persist in a
sinful life sufficiently demonstrate that they are not born of
God.

VII. From the discrimination between the
children of God and the children of the devil. They have their
distinct characters. In this the children of God are manifest
and the children of the devil, v. 10. In the world (according to the
old distinction) there are the seed of God and the seed of the
serpent. Now the seed of the serpent is known by these two
signatures:—1. By neglect of religion: Whosoever doeth not
righteously (omits and disregards the rights and dues of God;
for religion is but our righteousness towards God, or giving him
his due, and whosoever does not conscientiously do this) is not
of God, but, on the contrary, of the devil. The devil is the
father of unrighteous or irreligious souls. And, 2. By hatred of
fellow-christians: Neither he that loveth not his brother,v. 10. True
Christians are to be loved for God's and Christ's sake. Those who
so love them not, but despise, and hate, and persecute them, have
the serpentine nature still abiding in them.

Brotherly Love. (a.
d. 80.)

11 For this is the message that ye heard from
the beginning, that we should love one another. 12 Not as
Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And
wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his
brother's righteous. 13 Marvel not, my brethren, if the
world hate you.

The apostle, having intimated that one mark
of the devil's children is hatred of the brethren, takes occasion
thence,

I. To recommend fraternal Christian love,
and that from the excellence, or antiquity, or primariness of the
injunction relating thereto: And this is the message (the
errand or charge) which you heard from the beginning (this
came among the principal parts of practical Christianity), that
we should love one another, v. 11. We should love the Lord Jesus,
and value his love, and consequently love all the objects of it,
and thereupon all our brethren in Christ.

II. To dissuade from what is contrary
thereto, all ill-will towards the brethren, and that by the example
of Cain. His envy and malignity should deter us from harbouring the
like passion, and that upon these accounts:—1. It showed that he
was as the first-born of the serpent's seed; even he, the eldest
son of the first man, was of the wicked one. He imitated and
resembled the first wicked one, the devil. 2. His ill-will had no
restraint; it proceeded so far as to contrive and accomplish
murder, and that of a near relation, and that in the beginning of
the world, when there were but few to replenish it. He slew his
brother, v. 12.
Sin, indulged, knows no bound. And, 3. It proceeded so far, and had
in it so much of the devil, that he murdered his brother for
religion's sake. He was vexed with the superiority of Abel's
service, and envied him the favour and acceptance he had with God.
And for these he martyred his brother. And wherefore slew he
him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's
righteous, v.
12. Ill-will will teach us to hate and revenge what we
should admire and imitate. And then,

III. To infer that it is no wonder that
good men are so served now: Marvel not, my brethren, if the
world hate you, v.
13. The serpentine nature still continues in the world.
The great serpent himself reigns as the God of this world. Wonder
not then that the serpentine world hates and hisses at you who
belong to that seed of the woman that is to bruise the serpent's
head.

Brotherly Love. (a.
d. 80.)

14 We know that we have passed from death unto
life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his
brother abideth in death. 15 Whosoever hateth his brother is
a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding
in him. 16 Hereby perceive we the love of God,
because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down
our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoso hath this
world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his
bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God
in him? 18 My little children, let us not love in word,
neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. 19 And hereby
we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts
before him.

The beloved apostle can scarcely touch upon
the mention of sacred love, but he must enlarge upon the
enforcement of it, as here he does by divers arguments and
incentives thereto; as,

I. That it is a mark of our evangelical
justification, of our transition into a state of life: We know
that we have passed from death to life, because we love the
brethren, v. 14.
We are by nature children of wrath and heirs of death. By the
gospel (the gospel-covenant or promise) our state towards another
world is altered and changed. We pass from death to life, from the
guilt of death to the right of life; and this transition is made
upon our believing in the Lord Jesus: He that believeth on the
Son hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not hath
the wrath of God abiding on him, John iii. 36. Now this happy change of state
we may come to be assured of: We know that we have passed from
death to life; we may know it by the evidences of our faith in
Christ, of which this love to our brethren is one, which leads us
to characterize this love that is such a mark of our justified
state. It is not a zeal for a party in the common religion, or an
affection for, or an affectation of, those who are of the same
denomination and subordinate sentiments with ourselves. But this
love,

1. Supposes a general love to mankind: the
law of Christian love, in the Christian community, is founded on
the catholic law, in the society of mankind, Thou shalt love thy
neighbour as thyself. Mankind are to be loved principally on
these two accounts:—(1.) As the excellent work of God, made by
him, and made in wonderful resemblance of him. The reason that God
assigns for the certain punishment of a murderer is a reason
against our hatred of any of the brethren of mankind, and
consequently a reason for our love to them: for in the image of
God made he man, Gen. ix.
6. (2.) As being, in some measure, beloved in Christ.
The whole race of mankind—the gens humana, should be
considered as being, in distinction from fallen angels, a redeemed
nation; as having a divine Redeemer designed, prepared, and given
for them. So God loved the world, even this world, that
he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him
should not perish, but have everlasting life, John iii. 16. A world so beloved of
God should accordingly be loved by us. And this love will exert
itself in earnest desires, and prayers, and attempts, for the
conversion and salvation of the yet uncalled blinded world. My
heart's desire and prayer for Israel are that they may be
saved. And then this love will include all due love to enemies
themselves.

2. It includes a peculiar love to the
Christian society, to the catholic church, and that for the sake of
her head, as being his body, as being redeemed, justified, and
sanctified in and by him; and this love particularly acts and
operates towards those of the catholic church that we have
opportunity of being personally acquainted with or credibly
informed of. They are not so much loved for their own sakes as for
the sake of God and Christ, who have loved them. And it is God and
Christ, or, if you will, the love of God and grace of Christ, that
are beloved and valued in them and towards them. And so this is the
issue of faith in Christ, and is thereupon a note of our passage
from death to life.

II. The hatred of our brethren is, on the
contrary, a sign of our deadly state, of our continuance under the
legal sentence of death: He that loveth not his brother (his
brother in Christ) abideth in death, v. 14. He yet stands under the curse
and condemnation of the law. This the apostle argues by a clear
syllogism: "You know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in
him; but he who hates his brother is a murderer; and therefore you
cannot but know that he who hates his brother hath not eternal life
abiding in him," v.
15. Or, he abideth in death, as it is expressed,
v. 14, Whosoever
hateth his brother is a murderer; for hatred of the person is,
so far as it prevails, a hatred of life and welfare, and naturally
tends to desire the extinction of it. Cain hated, and then slew,
his brother. Hatred will shut up the bowels of compassion from the
poor brethren, and will thereby expose them to the sorrows of
death. And it has appeared that hatred of the brethren has in all
ages dressed them up in ill names, odious characters, and
calumnies, and exposed them to persecution and the sword. No
wonder, then, that he who has a considerable acquaintance with the
heart of man, or is taught by him who fully knows it, who knows the
natural tendency and issue of vile and violent passions, and knows
withal the fulness of the divine law, declares him who hates his
brother to be a murderer. Now he who by the frame and
disposition of his heart is a murderer cannot have eternal life
abiding in him; for he who is such must needs be
carnally-minded, and to be carnally-minded is death,Rom. viii. 6. The apostle, by
the expression of having eternal life abiding in us, may
seem to mean the possession of an internal principle of endless
life, according to that of the Saviour, Whosoever drinketh of
the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, shall never
be totally destitute thereof; but the water that I shall give
him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting
life, John iv. 14. And
thereupon some may be apt to surmise that the passing from death to
life (v. 14) does
not signify the relative change made in our justification of life,
but the real change made in the regeneration to life; and
accordingly that the abiding in death mentioned v. 14 is continuance in spiritual
death, as it is usually called, or abiding in the corrupt deadly
temper of nature. But as these passages more naturally denote the
state of the person, whether adjudged to life or death, so the
relative transition from death to life may well be proved or
disproved by the possession or non-possession of the inward
principle of eternal life, since washing from the guilt of sin is
inseparably united with washing from the filth and power of sin.
But you are washed, but you are sanctified, but you are
justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our
God, 1 Cor. vi. 11.

III. The example of God and Christ should
inflame our hearts with this holy love: Hereby perceive we the
love of God, because he laid down his life for us; and we ought to
lay down our lives for the brethren, v. 16. The great God has given his Son
to the death for us. But since this apostle has declared that the
Word was God, and that he became flesh for us, I see
not why we may not interpret this of God the Word. Here is the love
of God himself, of him who in his own person is God, though not the
Father, that he assumed a life, that he might lay it down for us!
Here is the condescension, the miracle, the mystery of divine love,
that God would redeem the church with his own blood! Surely we
should love those whom God hath loved, and so loved; and we shall
certainly do so if we have any love for God.

IV. The apostle, having proposed this
flaming constraining example of love, and motive to it, proceeds to
show us what should be the temper and effect of this our Christian
love. And, 1. It must be, in the highest degree, so fervent as to
make us willing to suffer even to death for the good of the church,
for the safety and salvation of the dear brethren: And we ought
to lay down our lives for the brethren (v. 16), either in our ministrations
and services to them (yea, and if I be offered upon the service
and sacrifice of your faith, I joy and rejoice with you all—I
shall congratulate your felicity, Phil. ii. 17), or in exposing ourselves to
hazards, when called thereto, for the safety and preservation of
those that are more serviceable to the glory of God and the
edification of the church than we can be. Who have for my life
laid down their own necks; unto whom not only I give thanks, but
also all the churches of the Gentiles, Rom. xvi. 4. How mortified should the
Christian be to this life! How prepared to part with it! And how
well assured of a better! 2. It must be, in the next degree,
compassionate, liberal, and communicative to the necessities of the
brethren: For whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his
brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from
him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? v. 17. It pleases God that some of the
Christian brethren should be poor, for the exercise of the charity
and love of those that are rich. And it pleases the same God to
give to some of the Christian brethren this world's good, that they
may exercise their grace in communicating to the poor saints. And
those who have this world's good must love a good God more, and
their good brethren more, and be ready to distribute it for their
sakes. It appears here that this love to the brethren is founded
upon love to God, in that it is here called so by the apostle:
How dwelleth the love of God in him? This love to the
brethren is love to God in them; and where there is none of this
love to them there is no true love to God at all. 3. I was going to
intimate the third and lowest degree in the next verse; but the apostle has prevented me,
by intimating that this last charitable communicative love, in
persons of ability, is the lowest that can consist with the love of
God. But there may be other fruits of this love; and therefore the
apostle desires that in all it should be unfeigned and operative,
as circumstances will allow: My little children (my dear
children in Christ), let us not love in word, neither in tongue,
but in deed and in truth, v. 18. Compliments and flatteries
become not Christians; but the sincere expressions of sacred
affection, and the services or labours of love, do. Then,

V. This love will evince our sincerity in
religion, and give us hope towards God: And hereby we know that
we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him,v. 19. It is a great
happiness to be assured of our integrity in religion. Those that
are so assured may have holy boldness or confidence towards God;
they may appeal to him from the censures and condemnation of the
world. The way to arrive at the knowledge of our own truth and
uprightness in Christianity, and to secure our inward peace, is to
abound in love and in the works of love towards the Christian
brethren.

The Testimony of Conscience. (a.
d. 80.)

20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater
than our heart, and knoweth all things. 21 Beloved, if our
heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.
22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep
his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his
sight.

The apostle, having intimated that there
may be, even among us, such a privilege as an assurance or sound
persuasion of heart towards God, proceeds here,

I. To establish the court of conscience,
and to assert the authority of it: For, if our heart condemn us,
God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things,v. 20. Our heart
here is our self-reflecting judicial power, that noble excellent
ability whereby we can take cognizance of ourselves, of our
spirits, our dispositions, and actions, and accordingly pass a
judgment upon our state towards God; and so it is the same with
conscience, or the power of moral self-consciousness. This power
can act as witness, judge, and executioner of judgment; it either
accuses or excuses, condemns or justifies; it is set and placed in
this office by God himself: the spirit of man, thus
capacitated and empowered, is the candle of the Lord, a
luminary lighted and set up by the Lord, searching all the
inward parts of the belly, taking into scrutiny and viewing the
penetralia—the private recesses and secret transactions of
the inner man, Prov. xx.
27. Conscience is God's vicegerent, calls the court in
his name, and acts for him. The answer of a good conscience
towards God, 1 Pet. iii.
21. God is chief Judge of the court: If our heart
condemn us God is greater than our heart, superior to our heart
and conscience in power and judgment; hence the act and judgment of
the court are the act and judgment of God; as, 1. If conscience
condemn us, God does so too: For, if our heart condemn us, God
is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things, v. 20. God is a greater
witness than our conscience, and knoweth more against us than it
does: he knoweth all things; he is a greater Judge than
conscience; for, as he is supreme, so his judgment shall stand, and
shall be fully and finally executed. This seems to be the design of
another apostle when he says, For I know nothing by myself,
that is, in the case wherein I am censured by some. "I am not
conscious of any guile, or allowed unfaithfulness, in my
stewardship and ministry. Yet I am hereby justified; it is
not by my own conscience that I must ultimately stand or fall; the
justification or justifying sentence of my conscience, or
self-consciousness, will not determine the controversy between you
and me; as you do not appeal to its sentence, so neither will you
be determined by its decision; but he that judgeth me
(supremely and finally judgeth me), and by whose judgment you and I
must be determined, is the Lord," 1 Cor. iv. 4. Or, 2. If conscience acquit us,
God does so too: Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have
we confidence toward God (v. 21), then have we assurance that he
accepts us now, and will acquit us in the great day of account.
But, possibly, some presumptuous soul may here say, "I am glad of
this; my heart does not condemn me, and therefore I may conclude
God does not." As, on the contrary, upon the foregoing verse, some pious trembling soul
will be ready to cry out, "God forbid! My heart or conscience
condemns me, and must I then infallibly expect the condemnation of
God?" But let such know that the errors of the witness are not here
reckoned as the acts of the court; ignorance, error, prejudice,
partiality, and presumption, may be said to be faults of the
officers of the court, or of the attendants of the judge (as the
mind, the will, appetite, passion, sensual disposition, or
disordered brain), or of the jury, who give a false verdict, not of
the judge itself; conscience—syneidesis, is
properly self-consciousness. Acts of ignorance and error are
not acts of self-consciousness, but of some mistaken power; and the
court of conscience is here described in its process, according to
the original constitution of it by God himself, according to which
process what is bound in conscience is bound in heaven; let
conscience therefore be heard, be well-informed, and diligently
attended to.

II. To indicate the privilege of those who
have a good conscience towards God. They have interest in heaven
and in the court above; their suits are heard there: And
whatsoever we ask we receive of him, v. 22. It is supposed that the
petitioners do not desire, or do not intend to desire, any thing
that is contrary to the honour and glory of the court or to their
own intended spiritual good, and then they may depend upon
receiving the good things they ask for; and this supposition may
well be made concerning the petitioners, or they may well be
supposed to receive the good things they ask for, considering their
qualification and practice: Because we keep his commandments,
and do those things that are pleasing in his sight, v. 22. Obedient souls are
prepared for blessings, and they have promise of audience; those
who commit things displeasing to God cannot expect that he should
please them in hearing and answering their prayers, Ps. lxvi. 18; Prov. xxviii.
9.

God's Commandments. (a.
d. 80.)

23 And this is his commandment, That we should
believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another,
as he gave us commandment. 24 And he that keepeth his
commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know
that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.

The apostle, having mentioned keeping the
commandments, and pleasing God, as the qualification of effectual
petitioners in and with Heaven, here suitably proceeds,

I. To represent to us what those
commandments primarily and summarily are; they are comprehended in
this double one: And this is his commandment, That we should
believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another,
as he gave us commandment, v. 23. To believe on the name of his
Son Jesus Christ is, 1. To discern what he is, according to his
name, to have an intellectual view of his person and office, as the
Son of God, and the anointed Saviour of the world. That every
one that seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting
life, John vi. 40. 2.
To approve him in judgment and conscience, in conviction and
consciousness of our case, as one wisely and wonderfully prepared
and adapted for the whole work of eternal salvation. 3. To consent
to him, and acquiesce in him, as our Redeemer and recoverer unto
God. 4. To trust to him, and rely upon him, for the full and final
discharge of his saving office. Those that know thy name will
put their trust in thee, Ps. ix.
10. I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded
that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him
against that day, 2 Tim. i.
12. This faith is a needful requisite to those who would
be prevalent petitioners with God, because it is by the Son that we
must come to the Father; through his grace and righteousness our
persons must be accepted or ingratiated with the Father (Eph. i. 6), through his purchase all
our desired blessings must come, and through his intercession our
prayers must be heard and answered. This is the first part of the
commandment that must be observed by acceptable worshippers; the
second is that we love one another, as he gave us
commandment, v.
23. The command of Christ should be continually before
our eyes. Christian love must possess our soul when we go to God in
prayer. To this end we must remember that our Lord obliges us, (1.)
To forgive those who offend us (Matt.
vi. 14), and, (2.) To reconcile ourselves to those whom
we have offended, Matt. v. 23,
24. As good-will to men was proclaimed from heaven, so
good-will to men, and particularly to the brethren, must be carried
in the hearts of those who go to God and heaven.

II. To represent to us the blessedness of
obedience to these commands. The obedient enjoy communion with God:
And he that keepeth his commandments, and particularly those
of faith and love, dwelleth in him, and he in him, v. 24. We dwell in God by a
happy relation to him, and spiritual union with him, through his
Son, and by a holy converse with him; and God dwells in us by his
word, and our faith fixed on him, and by the operations of his
Spirit. Then there occurs the trial of his divine inhabitation:
And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he
hath given us (v.
24), by the sacred disposition and frame of soul that he
hath conferred upon us, which being a spirit of faith in God and
Christ, and of love to God and man, appears to be of God.